it looks as if the worst of t rain has passed through, bob carpenter taking a couple days off, rob dibble and johnny holiday. looks like now the first pitch coming up at about 8:50, so stick around, we'll have baseball in just a few minutes, let's send you right back now to e.s.p.n. news. motivation to beat the red sox. why they do this time around. and stephen strasburg is considered the best player in baseball's draft. >> the first selection in the 2009 first year player draft, the washington nationals select stephen strasburg.

♪ >> kobe rises up and knocks it down. >> pau's first dunk. >> it is a clinic from a very focused kobe bryant. >> we're about a half hour away until tip-off. game three. helping you stay current, will silva, chairing the anchor desk with michael. a shocker out of college basketball. timid extend down as head coach of usc. >> we start things off with the nba. overtime a tough way to lose especially in the finals and that's what happened to the magic in their last game amp chance to make this thing a series. they need a "w" tonight.

for more, the crew have the coverage. >> back in orlando where the orlando event center opens down the road in 2010 the amway arena hosts the finals for the second time after dwight howard heroics. a great 40-point game to eliminate the cavaliers. has not come as easy here in the finals, 6-16 from the field in the first two games. he hit his free-throws as a higher percentage than the regular season. that has been a positive. he also has been turning the ball over a significant amount. >> the free-throw shooting shows an evolution. the way the lakers played him defensively shows how much work he has to do in the low post.

if you take away the middle and jump on the left shoulder and force him back on the baseline, with a second defender meeting him. he looks lost and confused. he is not comfortable going back to his left hand on that particular area of the floor and he continues to get the ball on that block. they have come at it with two games, sometimes with single coverage. he hasn't been effective in that situation. if you're a great big man in in low post, single coverage, get a shot, double-coverage, find somebody else to make the shot. >> he is going to face more single coverage. they're wary of giving the magic shooters as many open looks. they figure being back on their homecourt they will knock down a higher percentage. if you go single coverage against howard? if he wears the magic uniform in addition to the superman cape he is going to invite comparisons

to shaquille o'neal. you would not see shaq with extensive double coverage. >> everybody at home knows the numbers. nobody in the history of the world, the nba world, has come back from 3-0 to win a series so it's must-win for orlando. will they? >> i like them to come back. the last two quarters in l.a. helped them a lot. big game on everybody. >> i look orlando as well. better night for the shooters. >> see you on the radio. coverage begins at 8:15 eastern, join you for countdown at 8:30. >> and don't forget when the game is over this is where you want to be. "espnews." we're all about the stars here. you have from them and the coaches as soon as the game is of. live press conferences here on

"espnews." >> all right. we have game six between the red wings and the penguins. the red wings looking to put away pittsburgh tonight. so far, no score. we will continue to keep you updated on "espnews." >> espn's ed werder reported the vikings have temporarily suspended their pursuit of brett favre. he relayed the information to favre's agent but favre was urge to continue his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery. the jets released him two and a half months later, and then underwent shoulder surgery. this week the vikings gave a deadline to favre and now they have suspended their pursuit of

favre. joining us at 9:10. >> always nice to be the popular guy, and that was will selva's role in his high school career. >> yammer, you know me so well. >> mark teixeira becoming mr. for lap. overtaking kevin youkilis in the all-star balloting. top fourth, red sox on top. 5-0. and guess who hit a homerun. david ortiz who struggled might low throughout the court of the season. his second homerun in the last three games. the first 50 he only had one homerun but certainly starting to get off the schneid. >> the nationals had the top pick for the first anytime franchise history. they selected san diego state pitcher stephen strasburg, who went 22-7 with a 1.59 e.r.a. the gnats are optimistic about

signing him. >> we are optimistic about signing all our draft choices. we don't don't through the media so i'm not going to begin now. we're going begin the process, which i have begun already. i have spoken to scott bore has in a congratulatory phone call and had a great conversation with stephen strasburg. he was elated to be drafted by the nationals, fired up to be the number onic and has waving a great time in california with the rest of his teammates at san diego state. >> if strasburg can help the club immediately he can be the seventh player in the last ten seasons to make the jump. nady was the last one in 2000. >> still to come here on

"espnews," tim floyd resigned as head coach of usc. we hear exactly why. plus, manny ramirez still serving the 50-game suspension. hear what the outfielder had to say.

>> tim floyd resigned as the head coach of usc. he was accused of giving $1,000 to the map 'to steer o.j. mayo to the trojans. baseball now, manny ramirez suspended for 50 games for violating baseball's drug policy. he is practicing in anticipation of his return to the field. the suspension of course ended july 3rd. before he went down he had six

homeruns and was batting .348. he tolls the los angeles times, that is in the past. whatever happened is in the past, and i'm coming to play my fame and move on. i don't want to be a distraction for the team. i'm happy they have supported he. i come back and make up and we move on. that's all i can do. >> the first round of the mlb draft is in the books. insider keith law has been falling it closely and we know that stephen strasburg's the no-brainer of the draft. why were gms drooling over this guy. >> you don't see a package like that in a college or high school starter like that very frequently. i saw him touch 99 twice. ing in under 94. with an outpitch breaking ball.

locates both pitches extremely well. he is in great say. went undrafted. got to san diego state, got in shape, and velocity started to creep up. after his freshman year touched 97 and hasn't stopped since then. if way was to sign quickly could pitch in the major leagues this year. he is represent bid scott boras and those negotiations are likely to drag out. >> how do you propose for them to get a deal done here? >> well, my strategy -- and i don't know if they would use it -- put a big offer on the table, 25 million, take the offer today, 25 million, you're in mini-camp on monday and we get you out to the big leagues by some specified day. every day you don't sign it goes down by a half million dollars but you can only use that strategy if you're actually willing to walk away from the player if you get to august. the nams need a pr boost.

>> that was the no-brainer of the draft so the nationals are on the clock. what pick was the most surprising? >> i had tyler mathis ranked third in the country and he fell to 11th. it's surprising a talent that big, a left-hander who touched 98 and 99, has command, has a great body so fall to 11 is a surprise. it's even more surprising that colorado him. just they would take a guy expected to have a pretty big price attempt colorado has kept to the draft recommendations and not gone overslot. >> who is a questionable pick. >> the one that is scrutinized the most is tony sanchez to the pirates. a lot of upside. the middle of the lineup.

sanchez isn't that kind of gay. he can catch and throw and a good arm and power but i don't think he is the kind of hitter who is an all-star, an impact guy behind the plate who can hit in the middle of the lineup. the pirates did not like the price tag on the impact guys available to them so their strategy was take sanchez, pay him slot or close it to, reallocate that money later. >> who is the most intriguing for you? >> i was really surprised to see where kyle gibson went. the twins got a bargain. he was seen as a top 10 or top 12 pick but his velocity johned -- dropped and now he is 83-87. he has a stress trash -- frank in his forearm. the uncertain diaround the stress factor, the fact he is still hurt now hurt his draft stock, and give the twins

credit, they were willing to take a gamble. >> who is closest to making the big show strasburg or st. hstorn >> i think storn will sign first. strasburg could go right into a big league rotation. so you can argue he is more ready in the sense he can be a bigger contributor in the short term but because storen is likely to sign quickly, doesn't have a lot of mileage on his arm and relievers move quickly through the minors he will make an impact first. >> what trend did you see. >> the signability issues. i thought a number of them would fall out of the first round. but they were selected, by and large most of those guys -- matt to the rangers, jay to be turn

tore the tigers. mill tore the cardinals, big arms, potential impact guys, number one for two starters. the word is they were asking for big bonuses and that had a lot of teams get can skittish. but they go in the top 20, counterto what i expected. >> keith law, we present it. >> my ple . and just a programming reminder at 9:00 eastern over on e.s.p.n. the sportscenter special. that makes it that much more difficult.@@úúxx

. welcome back everybody, national's park in washington, d.c. manny acta and dusty baker meeting at home plate. we're going to play baseball momentarily after this long rain delay. today was a great day in baseball history because stephen strasburg was the first pick by the washington nationals. earlier our own debbie taylor had a chance to catch up with acting general manager mike rucinsky oh. >> thank you johnny. how thrilled are you, mike, to have stephen strasburg on your team. >> we're excited to be able to draft a guy like stephen strasburg, a great physical sized pitcher who has great credentials and we're happy to have him. >> you also add the premier college closer in drew store

storen. >> i love his get after it, and the package to pitch at the bag end of a ball game. >> what impact can these two players have on the organization and how soon? >> they are both quick to the beg leagues guys, as we phrase it, there is a lot of things thatting into it, developmental time, but they are college pitchers from great college programs and both throw strikes with good stuff so we expect them on a faster path than most players but, you know, we're just excited about having them in the organization and it increases our inventory and the power arms that we have in the organization and it's a great day for the nats. >> okay. thank you for a couple minutes. let's go back over to johnny. >> thank you very much. >> johnny: they get their guy, they draft who they thought they were going to get, now the job begins to get him signed sealed and delivered to washington, d.c. >> rob: i think the first thing is to get him signed and put that behind you, okay, whatever the finances are there, and then say "okay, this is what we

need you to do in the next 6 months, next year, two years," get the kid moving forward, away from college, pitching at the pro level which is going to be different, he is going to be pitching to wood bats, you know, going to be pitching against much more talented players, not going to be easy for him. so now the tough task begins by making him a major league baseball pitcher. >> did he have incredible credentials. >> johnny: take a look at tonight's starting lineups. dusty baker, willie tavares, jerry hairston, ramon hernandez, johnny goals in left, jay bruce in right, alex gonzalez in shortstop. rod had eye gan behind the plate catching johnny que et oh. now for the nats manny acta, detwiler goes to the hill, four starts in the past, 0-2 record,

12 earned runs, walked 6, had 17 strikeouts, this ought to be a good duel tonight between two very good young pitchers both at 23 years of age. >> rob: let me give you the pnc bank scouting report. 6, that is what this kid is looking at going, in his fifth start, continue to make adjustments, keep goin' right after people, he has never melt the cincinnati reds so every time he goes out there it's a new experience meeting one of these lineups. keep making adjustments. so these last couple of outings, 10 hits, walking a few people, got to to out there with rod detwiler's stuff and challenge the reds. >> johnny: defensively let's take a look at the nats defense, zimmerman at third, guzman at fourth, hernandez at second base, nick johnston, will nieves will be behind the plate, catching detwiler, dunk and harrison dukes in the outfield. detwiler very, very good 2.8-1

strikeout to walk ratios. only walk a few in his starts. >> rob: it came to me he was the sixth overall pick. that's the number 6. he got here pretty quick. couple years. >> johnny: tavares will step into start the ball game after this rain delay. we're finally happy to get the first of three under way against the cincinnati reds. detwiler's first pitch in for a strike.  64 degrees, chance of  rain, yes. andy fletcher, angel hernandez at second and scott barry umpiring at second, scott mclellan down at third, 29-27 on the road, 15-13. haven't won a game in this

park. 0-3 here in rfk stadium.  there's one quick out  first inning. >> rob: you bring up a great point. there was one year we went to san francisco, that's when you played the same team in your division 18 times, a nice play by ryan zimmerman, tough hop off the dirt in front of home plate, plenty of time. >> johnny: boy, zimmerman just having another tremendous year. especially that hitting streak he had where nobody could get him out. >> rob: 30 straight games is just a phenomenal hitting streak, and it wasn't just a cheapy, 1 for 4 every night, the last 10 games he raised his batting average 60 points and he was hitting the heck out of the ball right at the end. and getting back to your, the reds having trouble here, we were 0-9 in three different trips into san francisco at

candlestick park. so sometimes it's just, you know, certain ball park, a certain team has your number, right now they don't play the nationals a lot and dusty baker trying to change things. a different ball club, much better pitching than he has had in the past. >> johnny: johnny hairston jr. led the reds, 25 runs scored, comments in with a batting average of .252, stole four bases, one down, johnny holiday in for bob carpenter tonight. shot to center field. willie harris has a bead on this one. two quick outs for ross detwiler.  so willie harris getting th job tonight in center field done. 20-4 record for the reds, .883% scoring in the first inning,

second in national league baseball. 270 homers with cincinnati, fourth most in team history in the nationals against right- handers this year hitting 270 and this year second in the national league. toronto pounced back after sunday's shutout at the hands of the mets, 7-0, only the second time this year the ball club has been shutout.  brandon phillips the re second baseman. with a .276 average coming in this ball game, 10 homers, driven in 41 but 27 runs, 21 walks and six stolen bases.  but when you talk abo strasburg, rob, becoming a member next year of what is a very, very young starting rotation here, that brings smiles to everybody's faces. >> rob: but not just one player. you need the entire, i've said this time and time again, johnny, you need the entire

team to bear down and get defensively. they have the talent. manny acta can only do so much. pitching is great, they have plenty of offense but you got to do it as a team. >> johnny: and it's a one-two- three first inning against the reds. nick johnston, ryan zimmerman coming up. the ocean doesn't care. so grab your bag. times may be tough today, but the things we all look forward to haven't changed. like owning a home.

watching our children grow. and retiring with confidence. so whatever you're looking forward to, m&t bank is here to help you get there. m&t bank. understanding what's important. . >> johnny: quick one-two-th for the cincinnati reds at the top of the first.

detwiler sets them down. the lineup for the nats they'll go this way with cristian grews man in short, nick johnston number 2, ryan zimmerman, adams out of the clean-up spot with elijah dukes, willie harris center, hernandez in second base, ross detwiler. they have the .340 average in wins. he is 24 years old and has tremendous poison the mound for such a young guy. >> rob: yes he does and that's one of the things with bulk heads, and it is much a lot like the nationals, the young kid had to develop quickly. >> johnny: johnny questionnaire some winning six, he went 7 innings and more in his previous eight starts.  certainly doesn't pitch 

is 21. >> rob: no he does not. and bulkhead, when he pitches he pitches like an older gentlemen. >> johnny: the first pitch is in there for a strike. johnny get oh in for a strike from the dominican republican. 5'10", 200 pounds. one two lost one this year, e.r.a. of 4.23. a strike, 0-2, 1-2. cristian tip in the nats lead with the .328 average had a big night against the mets on friday with a double. and the 1-2. high drive to center, base hit.